Vegan on a $200 a month budget?

fdaniels4517 · January 2021

What tips can you offer? What does an average day of eating look like for you?

gigius72 · January 2021

Go to an Asian store, sprouts and whole foods. They sell by the bulk. Buy dried beans and grains, by the bulk they are cheaper. I just bought a 15lbs bag of dried soybeans for $10. Beans in a glass jar can last years. Put grains in a freezer. They can last a long time as well, but they can get a little pest infesting them and you'll have to throw away everything.
My meals are pretty much the same (these are my quantities based on my level of activity):
Breakfast: 3/4 cup of mixed dry grains (oats, millet, farro, buckwheat, sorghum...I change everyday) with 2 tbsp flax seed, 1 tbsp turmeric, vanilla extract, 2 or 3 handful of fresh or frozen berries. If you measure calories it comes about 600 calories give it out take.
Lunch: a huge salad (I use a moving bowl and it's completely full) and I throw in a bunch of different veggies with different colors. At least 1 cruciferous the rest what I feel like. You can buy cheap collard greens, mustard greens (if you like spicy food), broccoli. Red and green cabbage can last for many salads for how much they yeald. I add a whole can of beans (or equivalent of it if I cooked them fresh) or I eat them with some cooked veggies. I end up with fruit. Bananas are very cheap, or go towards fruit of season. Calorie wise it varies on the salad size and what veggies you use, plus on the dressing (I don't use any). It can go between 550 to 650 calories.
Dinner: I have a very light dinner. Always based on potato (white or sweet or purple) and mushrooms (my point in having this two foods everyday). I make a skillet dish with those two ingredients plus some veggies which can be cabbage, bell pepper or other. I sometimes throw in some soy beans or quinoa if I'm hungry. I end here with fruit as well. Calorie wise here it varies too much to give you an idea.
In my salads I throw in also some seeds or nuts, but costwise I think it would pass your budget. You might wanna look in the bulk section for sunflower or pumpkin seeds, they usually are very affordable.
I'm not a fan of vegan products and I rarely eat tofu. I but the new ones just as curiosity. But if you want to keep a low budget stay away from vegan processed food like meat and cheese substitute. Everything with a V on it has a price increase of a couple of dollars at least compared to regular products.

gigius72 · January 2021

If you have a sweet tooth you can buy a bag of vegan chocolate chips. You can eat a few chips, drop them in your breakfast or put a few chips in a small coffee cup add very little milk, microwave 10 seconds, stir it up and you got chocolate spread to eat on a slice of bread.
Oh I was forgetting. Soups are good too. You can replace the salad with a soup.

MaltedTea · January 2021

The $ 200 is for one person?

Grains, beans and foraging.

If the foraging part isn't your thing then perhaps the local farmers' market and/or buying the "ugly produce" in main grocery chains (sometimes there's a trolley of just slightly off fruits 'n veggies. Either they don't look visually appealing or they are a bit bruised).

If possible, reserve 10% for pantry splurges like nutritional yeast, Bragg's, coconut aminos, new spices, etc

Have fun!

janejellyroll · January 2021

I've had periods where my grocery budget is about $25 a week, although I'm not eating that way currently.

My staple foods with this budget are oats, pasta, potatoes, frozen vegetables, carrots, onions, cabbage, apples, canned tomatoes, rice, tofu, tortillas, peanut butter, and dried beans. Frequently used condiments are soy sauce, mustard and apple cider vinegar. I'll also make my own hot sauce. If you like to bake, you can usually make things like muffins and scones pretty affordably if you're smart about what you add to them (you can also freeze the extras of these).

I do find myself limiting fresh vegetables when I'm eating this way, so I have fewer things like salads or stir-fries unless I can find a good deal. But I'll have lots of frozen broccoli and top a lot of my bean and grain meals with things like pickled onions or fresh coleslaw. I'll try to have a couple of different beans on hand to keep variety in my meals (I'll cook a whole pound at once and then put them into individual portions and freeze the extra until I want to eat them). If you can afford some different types of spices that really helps -- the same bean can seem really different if you spice it Italian-style versus, say, Indian-style.

Most of my meals would be bean/grain based (maybe wrapped in a tortilla), pasta with beans and vegetables, baked potatoes topped with beans and vegetables, smoothies (oats combined with whatever fresh/frozen fruits are most affordable), savory oats, soups (frozen broccoli or bean or potato), and baked tofu with pasta and/or vegetables.

Dried beans are really superstars for budget eating and with $25 a week, it's really great if you can shop around and find a good spot for affordable fresh fruit and vegetables. Don't ever buy anything pre-made/pre-cut unless you 1) have determined it's actually a better price or 2) you have compared the price and decided it is worth it to you anyway. Special vegan products are going to be a treat unless you find a stock at an Aldi/dollar store type location (but don't count this out -- I see people posting great dollar store hauls frequently online), but if you can afford it, treat yourself from time to time. Sometimes a jar of vegan mayo or a bag of nutritional yeast add just the pick-me-up your beans and rice need.

amorfati601070 · January 2021

Vegan is actually the cheapest way to eat. Rice n beans for days. Buy the dried beans and shitload of rice and youre set!

This literally cost less than 50c to make

breefoshee · January 2021

I agree with what others have said about dried beans. This is a really inexpensive recipe that I LOVE.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/58211/authentic-louisiana-red-beans-and-rice/
You can omit the sausage and celery. I also add salt/pepper to this recipe.

https://www.budgetbytes.com/ has some really great vegan recipes and breaks down the cost of each item.

I also have some friends who eat incredibly cheap for one week out of the month, so that they can have a little more to spend the other three weeks. I really like this idea and hope to try it myself next month!

rosebarnalice · January 2021

Seconds and thirds to finding a good international grocery (Asian and Indian in particular where there are lots of vegetarians!) and buying legumes in bulk. I also find my Asian grocery has MUCH better prices (and a better selection) on tofu products.

Buy what's on sale in the produce section (which usually means "in season") and avoid convenience packaging like salad mixes or mixed veggies that come with some kind of seasoning sauce. Mega-veg out in in the frozen veggie aisle on frozen veg like spinach, green beans, broccoli, etc, and legumes like beans, lentils, chickpeas.

Avoid the frozen "fake meat" and veggie meal products, or wait til they go on sale. As much as I love a good Boca Burger, Earth Grown Chick-Un Nugget, or Daiya pizza, they can blow the budget!

MikePfirrman · January 2021

I'm not vegan, but I love a good deal and try to eat (mostly) plant based. Costco is great for rice, beans and also for quinoa -- ridiculously cheap. They also have great deals on canned veggies and frozen plain vegetables. Obviously, the membership isn't free, but if you a friend that has one.

kshama2001 · January 2021

Yes, I've been in countries where plant-based was definitely the cheapest way to eat. It's in first-world countries where it can get expensive. So like others have said, rice and beans in bulk and look for deals on produce.

I'm an omnivore but I have all kinds of dry legumes on hand - black beans, red beans, black eyed peas, lentils, split peas, chana dal - with a variety of spices, the possibilities are endless! I can also get a lot of varied meals with just black beans and lentils as my staple legumes.

Dried beans obviously take more prep and planning than canned beans, but are so much cheaper. Lentils would be the "fast food" of legumes.

An Asian friend told me a funny story about how she was shopping in a US Mid-Western grocery store and could not find the rice. Turned out it was all in little boxes. She was used to seeing it in 5, 10, 25 pound bags

Anyone in the Boston area looking for a great deal on Asian foods check out Kam Man in Quincy:

http://www.kamman.com/

Safari_Gal_ · January 2021

I’m not vegan but i love vegetables.. 🥦🥬
Buying frozen vegetables in bulk can last longer and save some $ too. I find the least expensive in my neighborhood in the frozen aisle are typically spinach and broccoli.

Vegan on a $200 a month budget?

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